Breaking it down
by Sevi007
Summary: "You just watched, didn't you? What a hero you are, watching when the ones you love go down..." There were times when even Izuku's body wouldn't move fast enough and sometimes, he has to relive them. (Where a human heart is still breakable no matter how much of a hero its owner is and others have to repair it again.)


**Drabble Prompt on tumblr called "Break me" with Izuku and All Might turned into this. Don't blame me, please.**

 _Izuku couldn't move._

 _He wanted to move – oh, how he wanted to, his muscles burning under the strain he put onto them, adrenaline pulsing through his veins. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him_ to move, _to_ jump, _to_ help them _…_

 _But he couldn't, his feet frozen to the ground, his body a useless weight which didn't listen to his silent pleas._

 _He stood and silently begged – his voice not following his orders either – and watched helplessly as blood and fear and screams filled his vision._

 _The sludge monster attacked Kacchan, choking the boy._

 _A robot crushed a fake city and Uraraka with it._

 _Tsuyu went down, either attacked by a Noumu or becoming a victim of a quirk that turned everything into dust._

 _Kouta's little body was thrown around like a useless puppet as Muscular descended onto him with maniacal laughter and punches of earth-shattering force._

 _All Might stood up again and again, body broken and bloodied but determination filling him – only to go down under the barrage of his archenemy time and time again._

 _Again and again, the same things happened in front of Izuku's eyes, and he could not do anything. Could not even look away from the horror in front of him._

" _Aaah… what a hero you are," the mocking voice drawled into his ear. An unwelcome weight leaned against Izuku's right shoulder, and a cold hand curled lightly around his neck, only the palm resting there. "Watching on while those you want to protect are falling one after the other."_

 _Izuku shuddered and wanted to pull away, but again, he was not able to move the slightest bit. He only managed to glance sideways, catching sight of a mess of silver strands and a glaring red eye that was watching his every move._

 _A croak left his mouth, and finally, he found at least his voice again. "Let… go."_

" _You think I'm holding you here?" The red eye gleamed in amusement, a creepy, dark kind of satisfaction, the one gained while watching others suffer. "I'm not doing anything. You are the one who won't move."_

" _I would never…" Izuku trailed off, closing his eyes in agony as another shrill, panicked scream pierced the air. "…just watch. I would never…just stay where I am..."_

" _But that's what you did, right?" the silver-haired male started to grin, wide and savage, the corners of his eyes crinkling in twisted mirth. He shifted his hand just slightly, ready to tighten his grip. "You just stood there, watching."_

 _The choked gurgling Kacchan had emitted up until now while he had fought of the sludge villain suddenly went suspiciously silent._

 _Izuku felt his eyes burn, a scream building in his throat._

" _You just_ watched."

 _One forefinger curled and closed over Izuku's throat, pressing lightly against his skin._

 _Uraraka's screams stopped abruptly._

" _While those you love got hurt."_

 _The second finger, a thump pressing against the side of Izuku's neck._

 _A ripping sound filled the air, crackling slightly, as Tsuyu's skin turned to dust first._

" _While your friend was taken by us."_

 _The middle finger joined the other two, pressing of the oxygen feed just enough to make Izuku gasp slightly._

 _With a final cracking sound, Muscular's punch flung Kouta's body to the ground._

" _You did nothing at all…"_

 _The ring finger, lingering a moment only inches away from Izuku's throat, before it settled lightly against his skin._

"… _when your precious teacher. Died. Just. Like. That."_

 _Blue eyes widened and All Might choked brokenly as his body gave out under the strain. He spat blood all over himself, falling to his knees, while All for One raised his hand for the final strike…_

 _And just as the attack descended, All Might's gaze searched and found Izuku's, and there was a silent plea written in that deep blue as his teacher reached out for him as if to ask for help…_

 _He couldn't move, he still couldn't move, he…_

 _The attack found its target._

 _Izuku broke._

 _He started to scream at the top of his lunges._

 _And the fifth and last finger closed over his throat and a ripping, cracking sound filled the air._

* * *

"NOOOOO! NO; PLEASE, NOOOO!"

"Midoriya!"

"What's wrong with him?!"

"Watch out!"

Half-shouting, half-whispering, that was what greeted Aizawa once he burst into the room, his quirk flaring up just under the surface, ready to activate at any given moment.

The first thing he noted were the three silhouettes, distinctly familiar, which were trying to reach Midoriya's bed without getting hit by the flailing arms of said boy. Izuku was squirming on his blanket, kicking and punching left and right, broken sobs and pleas falling from his lips.

"Everyone, get away from him!" Aizawa snapped.

Immediately the three silhouettes froze, not daring to move. Only Izuku was still writhing, but Aizawa couldn't blame him for that. The boy was not even awake yet, obviously still trapped in whatever nightmare was plaguing him.

Aizawa huffed and reached for the light switch. Flipping it illuminated the room almost too suddenly, the brightness stinging in all of their eyes.

Mineta, Aoyama and Tokoyami all blinked, shielding their eyes with a mumble of protest. Behind Tokoyami, Dark Shadow deflated slightly, letting out a whimper at the sudden brightness.

Aizawa assessed the situation again. The three boys were out of Izuku's reach, but still hovered there as if they wanted to jump at the other boy's side as soon as possible. And Izuku… the boy's eyes were rolling behind closed eye lids, his expression a pained grimace, and his quirk activated. Full Cowl made his skin glow as the boy mumbled in his sleep, calling out "No" and "Stop, please" every few seconds while he struggled against something or someone only he could see.

"We heard him scream," Tokoyami explained, getting Aizawa's attention again. "We came here as fast as we could."

"We tried to wake him up," Aoyama piped up. The boy looked ruffled, none of his usual twinkling visible due to his undone hair and the crinkles his pillow had left on his cheeks.

Mineta wrung his hands, looking close to crying out of worry. "Yeah, but he started kicking and punching once we came near him. He almost hit us!"

Aizawa wanted to tell them that he was okay with them wanting to help their friend but that they should get him first next time, but he was interrupted by a hoarse, croaking voice from behind him:

"What's… going on?"

Aizawa turned, directing a disapproving glare at his colleague. "You shouldn't run."

Toshinori was leaning against the doorframe, chest heaving with raspy breaths, but he still managed to meet Aizawa's gaze with an expression that clearly said that his condition wouldn't stop him from rushing here when he heard his student scream in the middle of the night.

Still breathing heavily, Toshinori's gaze flickered over everyone present, before it settled on Izuku. Instantly, his determined expression crumbled into a worried one, and he made to move over to the bed.

"Don't," Aizawa warned him, laying a hand on his arm to stop him. "He can break your bones with one hit in that state."

It seemed to take Toshinori physical effort to tear his gaze from his pained student, but he managed and all but glared at his colleague. "He wouldn't."

"He wouldn't if he was awake and aware of his doing. But right now, he is neither of those two things. And I can't block the quirk of someone who's unconscious."

"We have to wake him up."

"We can't get near. We will have to wait until he wakes up on his own accord."

Blazing blue eyes met dark ones, and the two teachers stared at each other, both clearly displeased and not going to back down so easily.

Before one of them could do something stupid and entirely unbecoming of their status, Tokoyami spoke up, "Actually… Midoriya was calling for All Might-sensei in his sleep."

Aizawa knew he had lost the silent fight when Toshinori's jaw set and his eyes seemed to glow like blue fire in the dark of his eye sockets.

All Might would not be stopped when someone called for him. Never.

With a barely bit-back groan, Aizawa let go of the blond – not without sending Tokoyami a glare for backstabbing him – and took a step back. "Fine. But be careful."

"I'm always careful," Toshinori muttered, turning around towards Izuku. He ignored the snort in his back and made his way over to the edge of his student's bed.

By now, Izuku had calmed down somewhat. He wasn't screaming anymore, those blood-freezing screams that had woken up everyone on the second floor. But he was whimpering and murmuring pleas while he moved restlessly, hands balled into fists one moment and grasping desperately for something the next.

It was a heart-breaking sight, and Toshinori could literally feel his heart squeeze in his chest.

Fully aware that Aizawa and the three students were ready to come to his aid should something unexpected happen, Toshinori sat down on the edge of the mattress, gingerly reaching for his student. "My boy."

No reaction, apart from another, "Please, no, don't…"

"My boy, you have to wake up."

"Please don't… please…"

Wondering what had his student begging like this, Toshinori bent down as best as he could, leaning over the muttering boy.

What he heard was not what he had expected.

"Please don't hurt them, please… hurt me instead… _please_ …!"

It felt like someone had dumped ice-cold water over him. There was no stopping anymore. Without thinking further, without caring for his own safety, Toshinori reached over and grabbed Izuku's quivering shoulders, holding the twisting and writhing boy and shaking him slightly. He ignored Aizawa's surprised noise and his flabbergasted students calling for him – "Sensei, be careful!" – drowning them out with his own voice, "Izuku! Izuku, you have to wake up! Izuku!"

All of sudden, Izuku went completely still, not moving a single muscle. There was a pause as everyone seemed to hold their breath.

Then everything happened almost too fast.

Izuku's eyes snapped open, gaze searching frantically for whoever had woken him up. But something was off – the usual dark green iris seemed to glow brightly, reaching a light green while something akin to sparks seemed to flash over it. One hand shot up, wrapping around Toshinori's thin wrist and pressing hard enough that he could feel his bones bending but not yet breaking under the force.

 _One for All,_ Toshinori noted dimly, stunned by that. Izuku was unconsciously drawing strength from his quirk while he was still half-asleep. While that was an amazing feat on its own, it also seemed like the boy was able to go beyond his usual five percent of power without hurting himself with it. Perhaps that was because he was not trying to use it actively, or because he was not aware of his doing…

But that was not important right now. Right now, Izuku was the only important thing. The boy had opened his eyes, yes, but he was clearly not able to recognize his teachers or his friends yet, staring blindly into the room with eyes wide in shock, still panting raggedly.

"Izuku," Toshinori tried again, softer this time. "It's me. Toshinori."

Bright green eyes snapped towards him, following the sound of his voice. For a second, the grip around his wrist tightened, before a hint of recognition flickered through the green gaze. "T-Toshinori…?"

"Yes," he almost breathed out the words, relief crashing over him in waves. "Yes, that's right."

The fingers digging into his wrist loosened further, almost slipping off. "You're… you're here…?"

The question sounded all too unbelieving, and Toshinori frowned involuntarily. Regardless of his own confusion, he managed to keep his voice calm and soothing. "Of course I'm here, my boy. Where else would I be?"

A shaky, quivering breath left Izuku and he seemed to sag a little bit, the unearthly gleam in his eyes lessening slightly. "You're _here_."

"Of course I am."

"You're _okay_."

"I…" again, he had the distinct feeling that this statement, the reason behind the words, was so horribly wrong. Nonetheless, he felt as if he had to answer it honestly, so he swallowed his confusion down and managed, "Yes, I'm okay."

Izuku's hand vanished completely from his arm, falling down uselessly as the blazing green eyes fell closed for a moment. A shuddering breath rattled the boy's body.

Toshinori waited with baited breathe. As nothing happened for a few moments, he was almost ready to believe that Izuku had fallen asleep again.

But before he could move to tuck the boy back in and stand up to leave him alone, Izuku moved again, so fast that it was nothing more than a blur. Toshinori had not even the chance to blink before two arms were thrown around his torso and Izuku all but slammed against him, hiding his face in his mentor's shirt and clinging to him for dear life.

Toshinori took a sharp breathe, almost losing balance as his student collided with him. Then he adapted to the new situation – quickly noting that Izuku's grip was tight, but not dangerous, even though the boy was still using his quirk, and that the little body was shaking like a leave, ragged breathe turning slowly into something that sounded dangerously close to a sob.

Toshinori's heart lurched painfully at that sound, and he wrapped his own arms around the boy, carefully as not to startle him. "Izuku, what…?"

"They hurt you," the boy's voice cracked and broke, and then he was no longer almost sobbing, he was downright crying, tears staining the shirt in which he had buried his face, sobs interrupting his next words. "T-They hurt you, and I c-couldn't do a-anything!"

" _Please don't hurt them, please… hurt me instead… please…!"_

Bile and blood rose in Toshinori's throat and he had to close his eyes for a moment, breathing out, "Holy shit…"

Of course Izuku would dream of something like that. _Of course_ someone like Izuku, so kind-hearted and always worried about the people around him, more than he was about himself, would have nightmares about _others_ getting hurt.

For Izuku, seeing his friends get hurt was his worst nightmare.

 _He's still a child, and after all that he has been through… all the things he had to see… why did I not_ think _of a possibility like this?_

The fact that Izuku was still crying against him pulled him back out of his self-loathing. Instinctively, Toshinori tightened his grip around the shivering boy, rubbing circles into his back with one hand and holding him with the other. "Izuku. Izuku, it's okay. I'm here, I'm not hurt. Everything is okay now. It was just a dream."

Izuku didn't even seem to hear him, hands scrambling to get a good grip on his mentor, pulling him closer, searching for his warmth, while broken sobs and fumbled words fell from his lips, "You were there… you were all there a-and they h-hurt you… Couldn't… c-couldn't do anything… so weak… I was t-too weak..."

The words were a knife to the heart, twisting and churning painfully, and Toshinori actually had to grit his teeth against the pain. Barely able to keep his voice steady, he mumbled, "Izuku. My boy, please… look up. Look at me. Can you do that for me?"

Another ragged sob, less forceful this time, and then a choked-off breath. A shiver went through Izuku as he fought to breathe in and out. It took him a moment or two, but finally, he calmed down just enough that he was able to turn his head enough in order to look up at Toshinori. A single, puffy eye blinked up at him, the boy still sniffling miserably.

Toshinori didn't feel like it, not at all, but for Izuku, he managed a wide, almost happy grin. "That's it. That's my boy. Can you listen to what I have to say, Izuku?"

Another sniffle, a hiccup, and then Izuku nodded slightly, still shaking.

Framing the boy's face with both hands, Toshinori made sure that he couldn't look away while he spoke, and began quietly, "I'm here, Izuku. I'm okay. You _saved_ me, remember? Multiple times. I'm here because you saved me. You are not too weak. You are so, so strong."

For what seemed to be an eternity, nothing happened, apart from the fact that Izuku's breathing calmed considerably. Then, the boy leaned forward, breaking eye contact and breaking free off the light hold of his mentor in order to rest his forehead against the bony shoulder in front of him.

"You're here," Izuku repeated quietly, voice hoarse from crying but much calmer than before. "You're okay. You're safe."

Realizing that the boy was repeating the words into order to believe them, Toshinori gingerly reached up and started to card his fingers to the green mop of hair. "You got it."

A shaky sigh left Izuku at that, the boy sagging and almost going completely limp against him. His next words were slurred, a mixture of relief and tiredness. "The others…?"

"They are all safe," Toshinori assured his student, even though he had only a clue who he meant by _others._ "Everyone is safe."

Another sigh, and the sobs stopped entirely, even though Izuku made no move to pull away or lay back down to sleep. His fingers were still fisted tightly in Toshinori's shirt, holding onto him like onto a lifeline.

Toshinori didn't let up his stroking motions, ruffling the boy's hair and stroking his back in an attempt to soothe him completely.

Then Izuku shifted, his head moving to rest against Toshinori's chest just above his heart, and he murmured, "Please don't leave me."

And this time, Toshinori understood where the silent plea came from. Understood the real meaning behind the words.

 _Please don't die._

Gulping, swallowing against his suddenly cloaked throat, Toshinori croaked out, "I won't."

 _Promise._

At that, the last tension left Izuku's body, and the boy went completely limp against him, startling Toshinori entirely. Scrambling to get a good grip on the boy, Toshinori lifted his student's chin lightly to take a look at his face.

Izuku eyes were closed, no longer rolling behind the eye lids, and his breathe was still raspy but deep and even.

Toshinori let out a breath he had involuntarily held out of shock. Izuku had simply fallen asleep again, energy drained from everything that had occurred in such a short time.

He almost startled yet again when Dark Shadow moved into his field of vision. The bird like creature hovered over Izuku, cooing comfortingly and almost worried, before it wrapped itself around the sleeping boy's shoulders, resting its head onto Izuku's left shoulder.

"Sensei," Tokoyami piped up, getting Toshinori's attention. The boy seemed not faced by what his shadowy companion was doing, ignoring it in favour for asking, "Would it be alright if we stay here overnight?"

"Yes!" Mineta agreed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. The gleam there seemed to stem from both crying and determination. "We want to watch over Midoriya!"

"After all," Aoyama smiled brightly, barely able to conceal the yawn behind it. "Midoriya-kun would do the same for all of us if the situation was reversed."

Hesitating, Toshinori glanced over to Aizawa. The other teacher had his gaze still fixed on the sleeping Izuku, but he inclined his head just so, attempting a nod.

"Sure," Toshinori said, a grateful smile playing on his lips. "Go get some blankets and pillows. You can do a sleepover."

The boys didn't hesitate, darting out of the room to get the necessary things as fast as possible. Dark Shadow struggled for a moment, obviously not inclined to leave Izuku's side, but finally, he relented and followed his master.

Left alone with his colleague and his sleeping student, Toshinori emitted a shaky sigh and rested his chin on top of Izuku's head.

His heart was still beating fast and painful, his hands shaking where they were stroking Izuku's back still.

 _I'm so sorry, my boy. So, so sorry._

There was so much weight resting on those young shoulders. How much more could Izuku take before he broke?

 _He's strong._

 _But still a child._

 _He would disagree on that._

 _But…_

"Stop it."

Jolting, Toshinori almost swivelled around without letting go of Izuku.

Aizawa's gaze was fiery red, his quirk activated, as the scruffy teacher repeated, less commanding and sharply this time. "Stop it. Better take care of the boy now."

A part of the blond wanted to ask if his colleague was reading his mind, but he let it be, instead concentrating on the weight on him that was Izuku. He needed to get the boy back to a comfortable – say, lying – position if he wanted him to go back to a deep, peaceful sleep.

Toshinori pushed slightly, but Izuku wouldn't move an inch away from him. Mumbling incoherently, the boy's grip tightened as he snuggled up closer into the warmth Toshinori provided, before he calmed down again with a sigh.

Glancing down at his clingy student a tad helplessly, Toshinori then looked over at Aizawa, a silent question in his gaze.

Aizawa pretended not to understand, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Is something the matter?"

Oh, very funny, Toshinori thought with a barely suppressed snort. His colleague clearly knew what "the matter" was, but fine, he had to spell it out, "He won't let me go."

"Oh no," the scruffy teacher drawled, "How horrible."

"Are you making fun of me again?"

"Just pointing out that you would stay overnight either way, after what just happened. Midoriya is giving you an excuse for it, that's all."

Sometimes it was difficult not to glare at Aizawa, Toshinori realized grumpily. The erasing hero just kept on poking fun of him.

Relenting with a sigh, Toshinori made to twist and turn until he was able to settle both himself and the still clinging Izuku back onto the mattress. Doing his best to both get comfortable and not wake Izuku up in the process, he was only dimly aware that Aizawa made to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" He whispered, not really believing that the teacher just would leave like that.

"Going to get my sleeping bag," Aizawa grumbled, quirk dissipating. He muttered something on the way out that sounded suspiciously like "Can't leave you two alone for one second, really."

Toshinori snorted faintly at that, rolling his eyes at the gruff yet caring behaviour.

Using what few quiet minutes he had alone with his student, Toshinori checked if Izuku was still sleeping peacefully.

No twitching, turning or screaming so far. Good.

Relieved greatly by that, Toshinori settled down so that Izuku's head was tucked right under his chin and he could hold the boy as tightly as the boy held him.

This way, he hoped, he would be able to keep the nightmares as far away as possible.


End file.
